FYI - FCC Proposes to Drop Morse Code Requirement for All License Classes

Thierry, ON4SKY
http://www.astrosurf.org/lombry

Text found on ARRL at http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/07/20/100/?nc=1

NEWINGTON, CT, July 20, 2005--The FCC has proposed dropping the 5 WPM Morse
code element as a requirement to obtain an Amateur Radio license of any
class. The Commission recommended the change to its Part 97 Amateur Service
rules in a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) in WT Docket 05-235. Any
rule changes proposed in the NPRM would not become final until the FCC
gathers additional public comments, formally adopts any changes to its rules
and concludes the proceeding by issuing a Report and Order (R&O) spelling
out the changes and specifying an effective date. That's not likely to
happen for several months. The FCC declined in its NPRM to go forward with
any other suggested changes to Amateur Service licensing rules or operating
privileges beyond elimination of the Morse requirement.
"Based upon the petitions and comments, we propose to amend our amateur
service rules to eliminate the requirement that individuals pass a
telegraphy examination in order to qualify for any amateur radio operator
license," the FCC said in its NPRM, released July 19. This week's NPRM
consolidated 18 petitions for rule making from the amateur
community--including one from the ARRL--that proposed a wide range of
additional changes to the amateur rules. The FCC said the various petitions
had attracted 6200 comments from the amateur community, which soon will have
the opportunity to comment again--this time on the FCC's proposals in
response to those petitions.

The Commission said it believes dropping Element 1--the 5 WPM Morse
examination--would "encourage individuals who are interested in
communications technology, or who are able to contribute to the advancement
of the radio art, to become amateur radio operators." The FCC said it also
would eliminate a requirement it believes "is now unnecessary and that may
discourage" current licensees from advancing their skills, and that it would
"promote more efficient use" of current Amateur Radio spectrum.

The FCC cited changes in Article 25 of the international Radio Regulations
adopted at World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 as the primary reason to
go forward with eliminating Morse code as an Amateur Radio licensing
requirement in the future. Among other changes, WRC-03 deleted the Morse
testing requirement for amateur applicants seeking HF privileges, leaving it
up to individual countries to determine whether or not they want to mandate
Morse testing. Several countries already have dropped their Morse
requirements.

ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, said he was not surprised that the FCC proposed
altogether scrapping the Morse code requirement. The League and others had
called for retaining the 5 WPM requirement only for Amateur Extra class
applicants. Sumner expressed dismay, however, that the FCC turned away
proposals from the League and other petitioners to create a new entry-level
Amateur Radio license class.

"We're disappointed that the Commission prefers to deny an opportunity to
give Amateur Radio the restructuring it needs for the 21st century," he
said. "It appears that the Commission is taking the easy road, but the easy
road is seldom the right road."

Sumner said ARRL officials and the Board of Directors would closely study
the 30-page NPRM and plan to comment further after they've had the
opportunity to consider the Commission's stated rationales for its
proposals.

In 2004, the ARRL filed a Petition for Rule Making asking the FCC to amend
Part 97 to complete the Amateur Service restructuring begun in 1999 but
"left unfinished." The League called on the FCC to create a new entry-level
license, reduce the number of actual license classes to three and drop the
Morse code testing requirement for all classes except for Amateur Extra.
Among other recommendations, the League asked the FCC to automatically
upgrade Technician licensees to General and Advanced licensees to Amateur
Extra. In this week's NPRM, the FCC said it was not persuaded such automatic
upgrades were in the public interest.

The FCC said it did not believe a new entry-level license class was
warranted because current Novice and Tech Plus licensees already can easily
upgrade to General. "We also note that, if our proposal to eliminate
telegraphy testing in the amateur service is adopted," the FCC continued, "a
person who is not a licensee will be able to qualify for a General Class
operator license by passing two written examinations, and that a person who
is a Technician Class licensee will be able to qualify for a General Class
operator license by passing one written examination." The FCC said it does
not believe either path to be unreasonable.

The FCC also said that it's already addressed some of the other issues
petitioners raised in its "Phone Band Expansion" (or "Omnibus") NPRM in WT
Docket 04-140. In that proceeding, the Commission proposed to go along with
the ARRL's Novice refarming proposal aimed at reallocating the current
Novice/Tech Plus subbands to provide additional phone spectrum. Under the
plan, Novice/Tech Plus licensees would be granted CW privileges in the
current General CW subbands.

A 60-day period for members of the public to comment on the FCC's NPRM in WT
05-235 will begin once the NPRM appears in the Federal Register. Reply
comments will be due within 75 days of the NPRM's publication in the Federal
Register.